A sharp-eyed reader spotted our book The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles in this photo on the BBC Travel web site as part of a feature about art in Paris. It is very nice to see our book featured in the place where these bikes first were developed and ridden. Today, the book has a devoted following in France, and it has led a young generation of cyclists and collectors to appreciate their cycling heritage.

Even though we were confident in our work, the global success of the book still has come as a bit of a surprise. The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles has been translated into Japanese and German, although, ironically, we have not yet been able to find a French editor to publish a French-language edition.

A lot of French readers have bought the English-language version of our book, so it’s not the enthusiasts who aren’t interested. I think the French publishing world is harder to penetrate, and finding a publisher who is willing to take on a book on French bikes from an American author may be a bit of a stretch.